Inside Pok¿mon Stadium's GB Tower Mode

Share.

Want to play Pok¿mon Red/Blue or Yellow on your Nintendo 64? Here's how it works.

By IGN Staff

In case you haven't seen it yet -- we're running a weekly feature on IGN64 about all things Pokémon 64. Last week, we introduced the two instant battle modes in Pokémon Stadium. If you haven't read the previous two Pokémon Times features yet, just hit the following links to check them out.

Pokémon StadiumWith the exception of the instant battle modes and option screen, most of Pokémon Stadium's best features are accessible from the main Pokémon Stadium hub. If you've played the previously released Japanese version of the game (called Pokémon Stadium 2), then you're in familiar territory again. Apart from the translated explanations at the bottom of the screen, Nintendo didn't add any new options here. An animated Magneton serves as the selection cursor:

Today, I'll introduce the neat little GB Tower feature that enables you to play Pokémon games on your Nintendo 64.

I already mentioned last week that the game is primarily designed with die-hard Pokémon fans in mind. Sure, you can play this game even if you've never even touched the Game Boy titles, but it's just not the same. The GB Tower mode is proof that Pokémon Stadium needs at least one of the Game Boy games to unfold its full potential.

GB Tower is basically the Nintendo 64's first game cartridge-based Game Boy emulator (no, the Game Booster doesn't count). How does it work? Well, simply plug in either Pokémon Blue/Red or Pokemon Yellow: Special Pikachu Edition, and Pokémon Stadium will load your game data right from your cartridge. It will take around 10 seconds for the game to load and start up. Note that the GB Tower function in this game does NOT work with just any Game Boy game out there.

The US version of Pokémon Stadium we were able to play last month supported only the American versions of Blue, Red and Yellow. The Japanese release of Pokémon Stadium (2) works with the Japanese versions of Blue, Red and Yellow, as well as the Japan-only Green edition. Gold and Silver are not supported -- but hey, there's always Pokémon Stadium 3, er 2.

As you can see from the screenshot above, it's just like playing Pokémon Yellow on a Super Game Boy on your Super NES. You'll even get the cute Pokémon Yellow custom frame with Pikachu and Pok¿ball art.

Apart from the fact that you're playing the Game Boy games in basic color on your TV and you can output the sound in stereo, there are no major enhancements. But the GB Tower mode is ideal if you want to save on batteries or quickly capture yourself some Pokémon that you want to either trade with a friend via Pokémon Stadium or use in battle. Also, note that some of the features in Pokémon Stadium are only accessible if you save your (GB) game in a Pokémon Center. Using the GB Tower, it's a cinch to quickly run back to a center and hit save.

Check back next week for more information on Pokémon Stadium's main game modes.

If you want to see more screenshots of Pokémon Stadium's, just click here.